Labor

You can tack wage theft to the list of alleged crimes under Snoop Dogg's belt. Three body guards have filed a civil suit claiming the rapper owes them over $3 million in back wages and overtime.

An amendment to the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act which would disqualify any corporation that violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or commits wage theft from certain federal contracts, has been introduced. The amendment, a potential win for workers, was brought forth by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC).

In their continuing fight for post-Act 10 rights, Madison Teachers Inc. has ratified a contract with the Madison Metropolitan School board for 2015-2016. Both the board and the teachers wanted to get the deal in place before the State Supreme Court rules on the union’s complaint over local bargaining rights. The contract will give the teachers a 0.25 percent raise.

While debating a bill, Pennsylvania State Senator Scott Wagner achieved a hyperbolic double whammy of oppressive proportions, comparing labor unions to both Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin. Naturally, the verbal “flourish” sparked outrage from organized labor across the state. As if being under attack from one of the worst governors in the nation isn’t enough.

The Escondido Democratic Club recently took some time to clear up misconceptions about the prevailing wage, a hot topic in local political conversations due to the city’s upcoming referendum on charterization. At the final public hearing on the issue, Escondido Mayor Sam Abed proudly admitted the he was “championing the proposal.” While supporters thinly veil their motives as an issue of “home rule,” honest participants know the prevailing wage to be the central legislative question.

The fate of collective bargaining for 1,300 union employees in the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, lies in the hands of the city council after two of its members introduced legislation that would make drastic changes to the current system. Mayor Tom Henry has promised to veto the ordinances if they reach his desk but the council could override that veto with six votes. The current makeup of the council is six Republicans and three Democrats, meaning Republicans could have their way unless there is intra-party opposition.

The AFL-CIO’s newly released 2014 Death on the Job report provides statistical evidence of the true state of American workplace safety. Since passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, the job fatality rate has been dropped 81 percent, saving the lives of 492,000 American workers. In 2012, nearly 3.8 million workplace injuries were reported, though OSHA estimates that when unreported injuries are included the true number is between 7.6 to 11.4 million.

Currently, only four percent of the Canadian construction force is female. Journeyman, a national program that helps mentor, support and promote women working in construction, hopes to change that. But drumming up female interest in a male-dominated industry is only a small part of the program's mission.

Michigan State Rep. Greg MacMaster, R-Kewadin, is leading the GOP echo chamber pushing to let Detroit drown in its debt, rather than help out at the statewide level. "It wasn't the taxpayers of Michigan that put Detroit in this position," MacMaster said, "it was Detroit's inability to administer their funds properly."

The Sacramento Kings held a training and outreach session with the Community Workforce Pipeline to finalize plans for a Priority Apprenticeship Program that will seek to employ 70 apprentices during the construction of the Kings new $477 million arena. Most eligible workers will come from high-need backgrounds and neighborhoods.